Phnom Penh (VNA) - Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Minh Vu paid New Year visits to Vong Pisen, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and Mao Sophan, Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, on March 24–25 on the occasion of Cambodia's traditional New Year Chol Chnam Thmey in mid-April.
At a meeting on March 25 at the headquarters of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces High Command, Ambassador Vu conveyed his best New Year wishes to General Vong Pisen and all officers and soldiers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.
He highlighted the importance of strengthening solidarity and cooperation between the two countries amid increasingly complex and unpredictable regional and global developments.
The ambassador affirmed that defence cooperation remains one of the key pillars of the Vietnam–Cambodia relationship, contributing to enhanced political trust and helping maintain a peaceful, stable and development-oriented environment in the region.
Based on common understandings reached by senior leaders of the two Parties and the outcomes of cooperation mechanisms among the three Parties of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, Vu suggested that both sides continue to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels and promote economic connectivity, particularly in border areas.
He called for effective coordination in searching for, recovering and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and experts who sacrificed their lives in Cambodia, while continuing to build a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.
On behalf of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, General Vong Pisen thanked the ambassador for his New Year greetings and spoke highly of the defence cooperation between the two countries, which has been maintained effectively across various fields, including delegation exchanges, personnel training and coordination among armed forces.
He emphasised that the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces always cherish the significant and sincere support of the Party, State, people and Vietnam People’s Army during different historical periods, particularly in helping Cambodia escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime and in assisting with the development of its armed forces today.
General Vong Pisen affirmed that Cambodia will continue to promote deeper, more practical and effective defence cooperation with Vietnam, while strengthening coordination among military branches, expanding training programmes and sharing experience to enhance military capacity. Such efforts, he noted, will contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability and further consolidating the two countries’ good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability.
Earlier, on March 24 at the headquarters of the Royal Cambodian Army, the Vietnamese Ambassador also extended New Year greetings to General Mao Sophan, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, along with officers and soldiers there.
At the meeting, both sides highly valued the results of cooperation between the armies of the two countries in recent years and agreed to continue strengthening coordination, improving the effectiveness of training cooperation and promoting experience sharing to further deepen Vietnam–Cambodia defence ties in a practical and effective manner.
In the lead-up to the Cambodian traditional New Year, Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities have organised delegations to convey New Year greetings to Cambodian partners. Among them, a delegation from Military Region 7 of the Vietnam People’s Army visited the Ministry of National Defence of Cambodia and twinned units in Phnom Penh, while a delegation of leaders of Dong Thap province paid a New Year visit to the authorities and people of Pursat province.
At the meetings, both sides reaffirmed the close and friendly neighbourly relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia, stressing that cooperation across all fields has contributed to the development and prosperity of both nations. These exchanges have further strengthened solidarity and friendship while promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two neighbouring countries./.
